A Minute With SpaBeautySchools

When it comes to weddings, a bride’s dream is that everything will come out perfect, no matter what the cost may be. And when it comes to hair and makeup, the statement also applies. Most brides are willing to spend top dollar for hair and makeup because it is “their day” to be the center of attention.

Beauty Professionals
Those in the beauty profession have a high chance of receiving a large amount of customer traffic this time of year. With wedding season being at its height in June, beauty professionals can begin to market themselves by offering discounted spa days for brides and grooms. This is a win-win situation for the bride and spa company. Another good idea for marketing yourself is to create a website for your business. Brides (along with just about everyone else) turn to the Internet for ideas and perform searches to locate places to have their hair and makeup done.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hourly earning potential for beauty professionals ranges from as little as $7.92 to up to and over $18.78 with tips and commission. With additional services being provided to the customer, beauty professionals have the opportunity to increase their cash flow. There is also potential to earn more once you have gained more experience and also if you are licensed to perform these services. Attending beauty school is a very good idea because of the income advancement opportunities that are available to you.

Ideas for Spa and Salon Owners
There is a high amount of revenue to be made by spa and salon owners when offering spa services to brides and their bridal party. Here is a list of what a few spas are charging and the services they are offering to brides, and grooms, as well:

1. Christie & Co. Salon and Spa (Bayside, NY) offers bridal services such as a trial hair day for $75 and a bridal hair day ranging between $75 and $125.

2. Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas (various locations throughout the US) offer bridal spa packages for both the bride and groom. Their packages are for either a full day or half day and run anywhere between $300 and $370. A full day for brides at a Red Door Spa includes a classic 50-minute massage, bikini wax, spa lunch, and much more.

3. Estee Lauder Spa (Manhasset, NY) also offers packages for both the bride and groom. The special bridal packages are offered from as early as six months before your wedding up until your wedding day. You can find more information about these services on esteelauder.com and can be found under link “The Beautiful Bride.”

A Few Resources
For more information on how other beauty professionals are marketing their services, and also what working as a beauty professional is like, check out these sites:

Occupational Outlook Handbook: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos169.htm
Christie & Co. Salon and Spa: www.christiesalon.com
Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas: www.reddoorspas.com
Estee Lauder Spas: www.esteelauder/templates/spa

-Priscilla Rodriguez

I need to be pampered. Seriously. I haven’t had a massage in almost two years and my hair is an absolute disaster! Luckily, I’m at ease (to an extent) about the professionals who can provide these services to me.

Really I love the beauty and fashion industries. Nothing thrills me more than a good pair of shoes or a beautiful leather bag. Being a stylist, I feel, would be so cool, but I don’t have the experience or training to deserve a stranger’s trust. The same goes for makeup. I’ve taught many-a-friend some tricks for their face, but that doesn’t mean I can make a career out of it. What separates me from someone who doesn’t know anything about fashion or makeup?

It comes down to credibility. Employers are far more probable to trust my journalistic judgment than to hire me as a stylist or makeup artist because that’s what my degree is in and that’s where I’ve worked before. However, if I wanted to I should definitely reach for the stars and get myself to beauty school.

I’ve seriously been considering a change lately in my appearance. Like I said, my hair is driving me crazy but I’m kind of nervous to just take the hair plunge! And I never know what to tell my hairdresser - how short do I want it? Do I want layers? Bangs? Ahhhh so many decisions!! Another problem is the fact that I’ve decided to switch hairdressers. I’m unhappy with mine and need a change. But who can I trust?! I’d love it if I really knew what to look for or if I could wear my hair differently than just my typical straight and oh-so-boring.

I need to spice it up! Maybe someone who’s like me can benefit from searching for a beauty program. And although I may stick to writing for now, a beauty career switch may be the way to go one day. And it’s then that I’ll be able to present my skills in a way that others can trust.

-Amanda Fornecker

Cosmetologists in training: take note. If you aspire to be THE hair stylist to the stars, to see your name in lights at your very own salon on the likes of fancy schmancy Madison Avenue, or to see your work all over the Red Carpet, then take a look at the story of Julien Farel. He’s made $3,600 in the past for completing only 30 minutes of work. Of course, he was styling a celeb’s hair at 2 a.m., but that’s just a minor detail…

MSN CareerBuilder had an article up today about this hair stylist and how he got to where he is today. Seems like it took a lot of training, practice, and mentoring. But eventually Farel was able to open up his own salon. Dreams do come true. While he was star struck at first when he started styling celebrities, he now claims that this job comes second nature to him and that his goal is making all his clients look like celebrities.

Says Farel in the MSN article, “Opening my own salon and seeing my name on Madison Avenue was always a dream,” Farel says. “To see it happen still fills me with such pride.”

And you can do it too. It’s not impossible at all. Farel started out at beauty school, worked in the field, and was noticed by someone with more experience. He just continued to move up from there.

“There is no secret to success,” points out Farel in the article, “there’s just determination.”

So turn that determination into some motivation for a beauty program so you can own your dream salon and make thousands of dollars in just minutes.

-Amanda Fornecker

Special occasions like Valentine’s Day do a great job of drawing attention to all the great services that spa professionals have to offer. That is if you’re lucky enough to have your significant other treat you to a spa day!

But beyond Cupid’s holiday, the job prospects for those in the spa industry are good year round and for years to come. Skin care specialists, for instance, constitute one of the fastest growing occupations, with employment expected to increase 34 percent between 2006 and 2016, compared to the average growth of 10 percent for all occupations, according to the latest projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You read right–spa professionals are in demand!

Not only that, spa professionals get to have fun. Where else can you flex your creative muscles in a calm, nurturing atmosphere? And on holidays like Valentine’s Day, spas get to pull out all the stops and celebrate with gusto. Check out these creative, specialty packages that pay homage to the holiday of love:

Yummy retreat >> Spa professionals give couples a chance to get away for the weekend and get treated to a facial or massage for two. One spa even provides an in-home, four-course meal prepared by a gourmet chef, complete with candles, wine, and rose petals. Sign me up!

Chocolate dream >> Calling all chocoholics–as a spa professional, you can help clients experience the ultimate indulgence at the spa this V-Day. In a unique twist on a standard spa service, some spas offer chocolate body wraps, chocolate scrubs, chocolate and cherry facials, and chocolate and cherry pedicures. Call it “fantasy spa.”

Couples classes >> When you work at the spa, you can help your love last past the holiday with insight gleaned from romance classes in the spa community. Enhance your relationship and take steps toward total mind-body balance by exploring the real magic of love.

Solo suggestion >> V-Day isn’t just for couples, and spa professionals know it. For gals with hearts that need mending, one spa is offering a weekend getaway, including a chocolate martini and strawberries, bath salts and lavender candles, and women’s magazines. What better place to heal your heart than at the spa?

The spa is a great place to visit on holidays and every day, but it can be an even better place to work and live. Where else can you experience all that chocolate without the calories?!

-Robyn Tellefsen

Can there be relief after hunching over my computer all day until my neck is in knots and I’m seeing spots? It’s hard to imagine.

After all, I don’t always have the opportunity to stop by a spa for a blissful, hour-long massage after a hectic day. But what if, instead of my heading to the spa, the spa came to me?

It may sound dreamy, but that’s the reality in a growing number of offices today. This year, the Society for Human Resource Management reported that 13 percent of its 210,000 member companies offer workplace massage. And an earlier “Working Mother” article found 77 percent of the top 100 U.S. companies offered massage at work.

That’s why workplace massage presents a fantastic career opportunity for aspiring massage therapists. Just think–all the people who have neither the time nor the inclination to book a full massage at the spa will suddenly have access to your services in the place they frequent most. For some, this will be their first exposure to professional massage. And once they’ve been treated to your massage techniques, they’ll be tempted to come back for more!

Aside from the obvious relaxation results, here are a few other amazing benefits your massage therapy services can provide:

• According to a 2003 “Annals of Internal Medicine” report and a 2000 “Canadian Medical Association Journal” report, massage therapy is an effective method of treating persistent back pain.

• According to “The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies” in 2004, massage reduces carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.

• Massage therapy has also been shown to strengthen the immune system, according to research published in “The Journal of Neuroscience” in 1996 and “Psychosomatic Medicine” in 2000.

More to the point, studies have shown that massage actually improves employee productivity. A study by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami found that after five weeks, a group of 26 employees who had twice-weekly, 15-minute massages in the office experienced reduced stress and improved performance, as opposed to a control group of 24 employees who were just told to close their eyes and relax. The massaged workers even completed math problems in half the time as normal and with half the errors they made before they were massaged!

When you’re offering these kinds of regenerative massage therapy services, what bleary-eyed worker can refuse? Not me.

-Robyn Tellefsen

The characteristics of an aspiring acupuncturist are obvious: a friendly, empathetic personality; a high level of communication skills; and a strong desire to help others. If you’re reading this entry, I’m sure you already possess those traits.

What you may have overlooked in your career preparation, however, is an element critical to success as an acupuncturist: entrepreneurship. As Lisa Hanfileti, LAc, MAcOM, of www.insights-for-acupuncturists.com attests, those lacking business acumen will have a tough time making a living as an acupuncturist. After all, no matter how incredible your healing powers are, if you cannot manage the business aspects of your practice, you will not have a practice at all.

OK, enough doom and gloom. I’m sure you’re already convinced of the need to market your skills, attract patients to your practice, and sell your wares. So how can you acquire those skills while you’re immersed in a right-brained education environment? The short answer: Take time to engage your left brain once in a while.

When you’re searching for the acupuncture program that’s right for you, make sure that business courses are included in the offerings. Practice management courses will familiarize you with the process of opening and managing a health care practice. You’ll learn how to write a business plan, develop office policies and procedures, manage insurance billing, and prescribe and sell herbs in an ethical manner. Marketing courses will teach you the major marketing techniques and procedures relating to the operation of a private practice. And legal courses will provide insight into Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of a private practice, as well as other laws governing the practice of acupuncture in the U.S.

If your acupuncture program is lacking in real-world business preparation, you still have hope for career success–you’ll just need to be a little more proactive in achieving it. For instance, you might plan to supplement your alternative medicine coursework with practical business seminars on the side. By all means, enlist the help of professors to draft your business plan, and gather insight into their successes and failures in professional practice. In short, take all the “free” advice you can get.

Compassion and communication offer an excellent start to a career in acupuncture. Just add some entrepreneurial spirit, and you’ll be in business!

-Robyn Tellefsen

I’ve been thinking about beauty professionals, and I’ll admit that “altruistic” was not the first descriptor that came to mind. Social workers and nurses merit that adjective, but cosmetologists? Hmm …

Then I stumbled upon Vidal Sassoon’s new Web site at behindthechair.com and discovered how wrong I was when it comes to what a career in beauty can mean to others.

Founded by Vidal Sassoon and Mary Rector-Gable, “Hairdressers Unlocking Hope” is a new program designed to raise awareness to the wake of devastation still experienced by victims of Hurricane Katrina, and to create something beautiful from the ashes of loss. Through this initiative, hairdressers are committing to building an entire community of homes in the New Orleans area.

Why hairdressers? According to the co-founders, the power of hairdressers’ hearts and hands is great:

“Imagine if we could build a village with the hands and hearts of hairdressers. Thousands of us working together to build a new life for families in need. We are such a caring craft; we make others look and feel beautiful every day. In November, working side by side together, the world will watch as hairdressers build an entire community of homes in the New Orleans area for those in need.”

Vidal Sassoon, who himself experienced homelessness as a child, has a special place in his heart for Katrina victims. And if anyone deserves to look and feel beautiful again, it’s certainly those were directly impacted by the hurricane’s destruction. That’s why hairdressers are lending their hands — so that the story of Katrina and the loss of 275,000 homes will never be forgotten.

Wow. Who knew that with a career in beauty, you could have the opportunity to impact someone’s life as well as their look?

That really shouldn’t come as a surprise, since cosmetologists and other salon professionals spend one-on-one time with clients every day, working hard to help them look and feel their best.

After all, the beauty industry was never just about external beauty, was it? By creating something external (a new look, a new home), beauty professionals effect something internal (a new attitude, greater self-esteem).

And let’s not forget the therapist role played by many hairdressers, nail technicians, and the like. They’re not just cutting hair and painting nails, they’re listening to woes and joys and offering insight gleaned from hours spent behind their chair, hours spent interacting with the ones occupying that chair.

Did I say that beauty professionals don’t contribute to the cause of altruism? Scratch that. They’re leading the way.

-Robyn Tellefsen

It’s obvious that it takes top-notch training to succeed in the spa and beauty industry, just like in any other profession. That’s why, this week, I went in search of some not-so-obvious insight into spa beauty career success. Check out what I found right here on SpaBeautySchools.com:

1. Look the part.
Maria Ascher, Regis Corporation’s artistic director, believes aspiring beauty professionals should look the part. “Now that you are an image-maker, make sure you’ve spent time on your own look,” she says.

2. Learn the business of beauty.
“Business and marketing skills are just as important as your artistic skills to be successful in this industry,” says Debra Macki, founder of Debra Macki Cosmetics.

3. Check your motivation.
“Don’t just do this to be a star,” says Arianne Damboise, known as Benefit Cosmetics’ Makeup Maven. “Help your clients take what they have and show them how to evolve into who they want to be.”

4. Keep your skills up-to-date.
Joey Noufal, owner and color artistic director of Noufal Hair Studio, attends hair shows to stay current with trends and train his staff. “Continuing education is critical,” he says. “There are always new techniques, styles, and products to learn about.”

5. Judge not.
“Be open,” advises Andrea Hirsekorn, a certified Pilates instructor, licensed massage therapist, and assistant director of Spectral Journeys. “You have to let go of judgment, and you can’t have a feeling of not wanting to touch a person.”

6. Become an excellent communicator.
“The most important part of having a future in the beauty industry is clearly having the ability to communicate and sell yourself and your services,” says Frank Schoeneman, CEO and founder of Empire Education Group.

7. Do some soul searching.
“Spa customers today are very savvy; they want results coupled with pampering,” says Jillian Wright, owner of Glow Skin Spa. “It’s a true art form that isn’t learned in school. It has to come from your soul.”

That’s good advice, no? So here’s my very own recipe for spa beauty career success: Take these “lucky 7″ tips, add some career education, and voilà –you’ll be on your way. Let us know how it goes!

-Robyn Tellefsen

The International Spa Association (ISPA), recognized worldwide as the leading professional organization and voice of the spa industry, recently identified 10 spa industry trends. Do these research-driven trends reflect your reality? Let’s check out the first five …

1. Spa visits are part of my lifestyle.
In 2005, more than two million spa-goers took part in lifestyle classes, such as healthy cooking, achieving balance and managing stress, and customizing at-home spa experiences. It’s obvious that our society is increasingly conscious of health and wellness issues (and career growth in the wellness industry is a direct result!). We may be a fast-food nation, but even the major burger chains are jumping on the wellness bandwagon by offering such healthy alternatives as salads, yogurts, and wraps.

2. Spa visits are a necessity.
The spa experience isn’t just a luxury or dream vacation package anymore. People are seeing a real need for spa visits to relieve and reduce stress, soothe sore joints and muscles, feel better about themselves, and improve their mental and emotional well-being. Certainly, if you have the means, why not use them to bring your body and soul into alignment by visiting alternative healing professionals?

3. The spa experience yields results.
More than one in 10 spa-goers treat spa visits as part of their overall healthy lifestyle, not just for pampering purposes. The American Massage Therapy Association also found that 30 percent of Americans who receive massage therapy do so for medical reasons, which include injury recovery, pain reduction, headache control, and overall wellness. This certainly isn’t the first time I’ve heard of holistic health practitioners producing results that traditional medicine could not achieve.

4. The spa industry incorporates medical components.
Medical spas are one of the fastest growing segments of the spa industry — from 2003 to 2005, the medical spa industry reported a 69 percent average annual growth. Popular medical treatments include chemical peels, microdermabrasion, body wraps, naturotherapy, and acupuncture. The spa experience has helped millions of people lose weight and feel better about themselves, all without the use of potentially harmful drugs.

5. The spa is my home.
Did you know that spa are now adding residential components, and real estate developers are building spas in gated communities and condominiums? Florida, New York, and Nevada are just a few of the states offering these spa communities. I could certainly live with a 24/7 spa experience. How ’bout you?

–Robyn Tellefsen